The Cadet
by Twin-Skies
Summary: In the days before Gundam SEED, did you ever wonder where Cagalli learned her combat skills? This'll be my very first SEED fic  criticism is always welcome. Especially since I'm introducing a new character...hopefully for the long run. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes

_This story takes place several months before the start of the Gundam SEED story arc. If Perrings sound like a new character, don't be surprised – he's somebody I created for this fic. Don't worry, You'll get to know him better soon enough._

_As for the lady he's having a conversation with, well, let's just say it'd be really silly if you missed her several appearances in the series. Enjoy!_

Chapter 1: Hell, no

"You want me to what?" Perrings exclaimed, as he focused on Cagalli, standing in front of his office.

Her eyes met his, as she slowly made her way in.

Perrings took the moment to relax himself, putting down the day's paper, and slowed his breathing, his elbows now resting on the laquered desk, his hands clasped.

This was going to be a long day.

Cagalli had been looking for Perrings the whole morning, and her impatience was beginning to show itself in her tone...and the cold glare she was returning to her recently hired bodyguard (Her chairman's order, really – she didn't have a choice).

"You heard me. I want you to train me." Cagalli replied, as she closed the door, and made her way to the visitor's seat just in front of Perring's desk.

Perrings took a closer look at the younger Athha.

15 going 16, Cagalli was a girl coming of age, and Perrings took notice of her maturing figure, as her body's gentle curves began to express themselves. This, along with her long flowing blonde hair did make her attractive. "Lucky mook, whoever hooks up with her," Perrings thought to himself.

But then, there was her powder-keg temper, her propensity to throttle anybody who crossed her (just him, actually, and it was a stunning right hook), and then there was the fact she was flat as a….

Perrings interrupted his thoughts as he remembered her stone-cold gaze…and the right hook.

"If I may ask, Ms. Attha, what's this about?" Perrings asked, careful to maintain his formality.

"I just think I can protect myself better if you taught me the basics." Cagalli said, relaxing herself in the chair.

"So you feel I can do my job better if I taught you a few tricks of the trade?"

"Nothing too fancy. Just teach me how to use a pistol, and a rifle, if you think I'm up to it." Cagalli replied. Was she getting across to him?

"If that's the case, then you know my answer."

"So does that mean you'll teach me?" Cagalli asked, unconsciously shifting her shoulder in anxiety.

"Hell, no."

Before Cagalli could protest, Perrings raised his hand. He had more to say.

"Ms. Athha, when I first arrived here, I distinctly remember that you weren't very fond of me."

Perrings took a few moments to read Cagalli's reaction. She was still glaring at him, but not with the dagger-like intensity that she had when she first entered the room.

"If anything, I do recall that you were the first to call me a…." Perrings said, as his voice trailed off.

"…what did you call me again?" he continued, scratching his chin in mock forgetfulness.

"…a money-grubbing mercenary…" Cagalli replied as she bits her lips, her tone barely audible. Her eyes were now looking to the side.

"Yes, exactly, Ms. Athha."

Perrings rose from his chair, and slowly walked to Cagalli.

"When I first arrived here, I was hardly anything you would consider talking to. That line aside, my jaw remembers what it's like to cross you."

Ah, the right hook.

Perrings by then was slowly circling Cagalli' seat like a shark.

"So here's my question, Ms. Athha: what the bloody hell are you up to?"

By then, Perrings was directly behind Cagalli's chair, his hands gripped on the backrest, face leaning over directly over Cagalli's head…like a guilloutine.

Cagalli hesitated for a moment, before regaining her composure and her thoughts for the next reply.

"Like you said, you think I'm a pain, right?" Cagalli replied, no trace of anxiety left in her voice.

"I just want to learn to handle myself, that's all."

"You could have easily gone to the instructors at the base, madam."

"Yes, I know, but—"

"Or is there something you don't want them reporting, Ms. Athha?"

Perrings cut of Cagalli again.

His mind went back to a conversation he overheard a week ago near Uzumi's office, and it concerned a project being conducted at the Heliopolis colony endorsed by ORB.

The Chairman refused him any information regarding the matter, but it felt connected to his real job.

Cagalli's intentions were becoming clear.

"Ms. Athha…" Perrings said gently, as he walked to the coffee machine to the side of his office.

"…this wouldn't have anything to do with your father's affairs at Heliopolis now, would it? You're planning a surprise visit on the colony, albeit letting anybody here know about your trip? So you come to me because you want to make your preparations 'off the books'?"

"H-how did you--"

"I have my ways of knowing these things, Ms Athha…" Perrings shrugged, as he poured himself a steaming cup of coffee.

"I have my ways."

He poured a second cup, and offered it to Cagalli.

He watched as she took a sip, and placed the mug on top of his desk.

"You're a lot sharper than you look." Cagalli said, as she looked at him again.

"I just know what I have to, madam." Perrings replied as he walked to the door, and locked it. He double-checked his office windows to ensure nobody was eavesdropping; It was clear.

"Though why you'd seem so intent on planning your on little excursion there… I could never understand why this whole matter has you so worked up."

"After all, it's just a research facility, nothing for you to be so pissed off about—"

"It's not just a facility!" Cagalli protested. "They're developing mobile suits!"

"So is ZAFT, madam." Perrings said, as he looked down into his mug.

"They're potentially dangerous machines, but what they can actually do on the field is left to a healthy degree of discretion--"

"These aren't normal Suits…" Cagalli cut in again.

"…if Morgan-Reuters managed to get sponsorship from something as big as OMNI, this can't be good."

Chapter 1 end


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Off the books

"…if Morgan-Reuters managed to get sponsorship from something as big as OMNI, this can't be good."

Cagalli said as she rose, her hands palms down on Perring's desk. The impact jolted her coffee mug. Perrings found it increasingly difficult to show no reactions as the brown, steaming-hot globs of java scalded the back of his hand.

The younger Athha's bit about OMNI was as much as Perrings knew about the project, actually. And it was worrisome. What his old "employer" was up to in an otherwise neutral zone, he would have loved to know too.

"Calm down Ms. Attha," Perrings said as he tried to wipe the stains off his sleeve. "I'm afraid I know only as much as you do. Any more information than you're telling me now is probably above my pay grade."

"Then doesn't that make it easier for you?" Cagalli retorted. "You don't have to ask me so many questions. You just have to follow my orders. And I am ordering you, Mr. bodyguard…"

"Perrings, madam."

"…Mr. Perrings, to train me in whatever I need to know."

Unfortunately, she was right. While Perrings could try (as he did earlier) to quiz Cagalli about he intentions, it was all for naught. If she wanted to go, according to his contract, he was very much obligated to follow her, if not provide her with a means of protecting herself. He was hoping he could pressure her to forget that detail earlier, but it appeared that she had enough presence of mind to remember…and enforce her authority over him.

_Learn to read the bloody fine print, you twat. _Perrings thought to himself as Cagalli waited for his reaction. "Fine, madam, you win."

"Finally!" Cagalli exclaimed as she sunk back into her chair. The mood around the room lightened. "When do we start?"

"Don't get excited just yet, madam." Perrings said. "I didn't say there wasn't going to be a catch."

"Okay, what do you need?" Cagalli said as she lisened intently to what her bodyguard had to say. "It's about your part of the bargain. I cannot in good conscience just teach you the basics and let you off on your merry way."

"What is there to teach me aside from shooting straight?" Cagallis asked. Somehow, Perrings' line was making her uneasy again.

"Combat is not just about shooting, madam." Perrings said, as he took in another breathe to prepare for his oratory. "Combat extends far more beyond marksmanship. Put simply, you'll need a proper mindset, proper physical finesse, and a proper tactical attitude."

"In other words, I'm going to put you through a proper training program, much like our own troops here."

"You're joking, right?" Cagalli said in disbelief. "And how long will your 'boot camp' take me to finish?"

"Three months, if you do exactly as I say." Perrings said without skipping a beat. No, he wasn't joking. "Any shorter than that, and I can't guarantee that you'll survive out there."

"And if I don't finish course?" Cagalli asked.

"Then I report your intentions to the chairman." Perrings said. As the special ops old combat doctrine stated (and Perrings just remembered) attack from above. In this particular case, it meant getting leverage from somebody Perrings knew had more authority over him than Ms. Athha – his Commander-in-Chief.

"And no protests, madam." Perrings said as he sat there, watching Cagalli's scowl of a reaction to his terms. "I could have snitched on you the minute you walked into my office with your request."

"Grrr, fine!" Cagalli exclaimed. She was willing to work under him. "But let me make this Perrings…" She said as she glared at him. "If you try anything funny while you're training me…" she trailed off, as she drew a line under her neck from the left ear to the right ear.

"I wouldn't dream of it, madam." Perrings said, as he pulled out a pile of documents from his desk, and began resuming what appeared to be his day's paperwork. "To be quite flat, you're not my type."

"Do we have a deal?" Perrings asked as he held out his hand. "Deal" Cagalli replied, shaking her bodyguard's hand. "Give me two weeks to make the necessary preparations. Until then, 'this' conversation never happened."

"What never happened." Cagalli said, as she rose from her chair. "Good." Perrings said, as he unlocked the door. Except, there was one thing that Perrings said that Cagalli couldn't quite comprehend…until she was a good twenty paces away from his office.

"_To be quite flat…"_

"What the hell do you mean I'm flat?!"

End Chapter 2


End file.
